Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art: Head from a Female Sphinx

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Head from a Female Sphinx

The great majority of sphinxes bear the heads of kings on lion bodies. From every period, however, a small number of sphinxes are known with the heads of queens or princesses. This colossal head can be recognized as coming from a sphinx because her hairdo extends horizontally at the back, where it rested along the lion's body. Her modest hair decoration suggests that the woman was a princess rather than a queen. The damages to her face, including the removal of her inlaid eyes, probably occurred before the head left Egypt. In Rome, it was apparently part of Emperor Hadrian's large collection of Egyptian art. The repairs, made with stone taken from the interior of the head, may have been made in the eighteenth century, when the head was in the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Albani in Rome.


• Medium: Chlorite
• Geographical Locations:
  • Place made: Egypt
  • Possible place collected: Hadrian's Villa, Rome, Italy
  • Possible place collected: Heliopolis, Egypt
• Dates: ca. 1876-1842 B.C.E.
• Dynasty: XII Dynasty
• Period: Middle Kingdom
• Dimensions: 15 5/16 x 13 1/8 x 13 15/16 in., 124.5 lb. (38.9 x 33.3 x 35.4 cm)
• Collections: Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity, Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor
• Accession Number: 56.85
• Credit Line: Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
• Image: Front, 56.85_front_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
Head from a Female Sphinx, ca. 1876-1842 B.C.E. Chlorite, 15 5/16 x 13 1/8 x 13 15/16 in., 124.5 lb. (38.9 x 33.3 x 35.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 56.85 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 56.85_front_SL1.jpg)